Deadline: May 31, 2021

Apply now for the Hack the Planet Competition 2021. To celebrate Earth Day on 22 April, the Commonwealth Secretariat and Satellite Applications Catapult are launching the first-ever Hack the Planet competition, in search of innovative, impactful and scalable ideas that will tackle the threats facing communities around the world, linked to ocean degradation and the climate crisis.

The virtual ideas competition will advance outstanding home-grown solutions from across 54 Commonwealth countries, targeting some of the world’s most pressing ocean-related challenges, such as eliminating plastic pollution, accelerating sustainable energy uptake, climate change, developing sustainable ‘blue’ approaches for the ocean economy and protecting nature in marine areas.

Competition Details

The theme of the competition is closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 14 (ocean), 13 (climate) and 7 (energy). Specific examples of issues that could be addressed include those covered by the Commonwealth Blue Charter: marine plastic pollution, coral reef protection and restoration, mangrove ecosystems and livelihoods, marine protected areas, ocean acidification, ocean and climate change, ocean observations, sustainable aquaculture and sustainable coastal fisheries.

In the second phase of the competition, 30 shortlisted teams will be invited to participate in a knowledge exchange programme where they will learn about satellite technologies and elements of design thinking that could support their ideas, and hone these into robust, compelling pitches. The training and support provided during the knowledge exchange programme will be highly valuable and will support participants to improve their ideas with the help of a wide variety of industry experts.

Benefits

Participants in Hack the Planet 2021 can look forward to:

• The chance to win a cash prize of £10,000 to help turn your idea into a real-life concept.
• The opportunity for virtual coaching from experts that can help support you throughout the competition.
• The chance to pitch your idea to a panel of satellite and ocean experts.
• The opportunity to network with peers, mentors, and experts.
• Worldwide recognition for your idea.

Eligibility

• Open to people from Commonwealth nations.
• They are looking for your ideas on how to solve the challenges of our ocean with concepts that include the power of imagery, connectivity or other applications from satellites.
• Your ideas should relate to one of the 10 challenges set out in the Commonwealth Blue Charter.

Application

To enter, participants will need to talk about their idea. The organisers will ask participants to tell them about the global ocean challenge the idea supports, how information or communication from satellites can support the idea and what they will do if they win the competition. They will also have a chance to upload a short video explaining their idea.

Click here to apply

For more information, visit Hack the Planet Competition.